By Kathleen Cassedy

Marketers Coping With a New Normalcy

Many Americans put their travel plans on hold for six months following
September 11, 2001. Their lives and travel patterns had returned to a
semblance of normalcy by May of 2002, notes Peter Yesawich, president and CEO of Yesawich, Pepperdine & Brown (YPB), a marketing and advertising agency.

He specifies that this is not back to normal (as we have known it), but a new
normalcy. Travel should continue to increase in the months ahead for 2002, he
said.

Yesawich is a regular speaker at ATME’s annual conferences, who discusses
travel habits, preferences and intentions of Americans. His presentation
this year was based on results from several surveys that YPB conducted after
September 11th and the YPB/Yankelovich Partners 2002 National Travel Monitor poll. Results from the latter are calculated from 1,351 leisure and 1,200
business travelers during the first quarter of 2002.

After the terrorist attack, travel organizations pulled their advertising
for several months. Survey information showed that Americans would travel
again if lured by price deals on airfares and accommodations that they
considered too good to pass up. Americans found these super deals on the
Internet, which caused online leisure travel purchases to double within a
60-day period.

Because of transparent pricing on the Internet, Americans are becoming
"downwardly mobile," Yesawich says. Getting the best deal has become the new status symbol.

INTERNET USE
Sixty percent of Americans said they would be upset if they did not get
the best price for their vacation, and 83 percent said they would change a
room reservation for a lower rate. This would indicate that brand loyalty is
a moribund concept, Yesawich says. He notes that "techno-savvy affluent
travelers," who have access to virtual pricing, would rather be "price loyal"
than "brand loyal." This does not mean that they will choose the lowest
price, but they look for the best value for what they intend to spend,
Yesawich says. "Value is now king for the consumer," he says.

When asked on the survey, "What is the most convenient way to make travel
plans?" leisure travelers said going directly to suppliers (40%); going
online (34%), and using a travel agent (26%).

Internet use was actually declining in duration, when it spiked after
September 11. The survey shows that in the first quarter of 2002, 43 percent
of web surfers visited at least one travel site in search of a promotional
rate. For the first time, Internet use among leisure travelers is roughly at
parity with business travel use, Yesawich says.

The primary reason that people go to online travel sites is to find the
best price, Yesawich says. People value online sites that provide them with
the ability to compare rates for airfare, hotel accommodations and car
rentals. Fifty-five percent of Americans say their "strategic control" is a
result of the Internet.

LEISURE TRAVEL
After September 11, 68 percent of Americans said they would rather drive
than fly. This percentage was declining until January when the "shoe bomber"
was apprehended in flight. By May, fear of flying had abated again.
In January, almost 60 percent of Americans planned to vacation closer to
home, preferably with friends and family. Yesawich notes that family travel
is the only travel segment expected to grow.

Two-thirds of Americans say that their families and homes provide the
most satisfaction in their lives, in contrast to the "go-go ‘80s," when more
Americans found satisfaction from a nice car. Thirty-seven percent of adults
said they took at least one vacation with children, when only 34 percent of
households have children. These statistics indicate an increase of
multi-generational travel, notes Yesawich. In 2001, 25 percent of Americans
took a vacation alone.

Good news, says Yesawich, the number of leisure trips planned by
Americans should increase by 6 percent for the last half of 2002. Considering
the previous declines, however, that increase will put leisure travel roughly
at parity to travel in 2001 by the end of 2003.

TRAVEL TRENDS
Travel purchases are influenced by Americans’ discretionary income, which
have been declining for several years. Americans have very little savings
and a lot of debt. Savings rates are only at 1 percent, while the credit
balance for the typical America household is just over $5,000, said Yesawich.
About 15 percent of household income is servicing debt, and household
networth has declined.

People, including small business owners, are planning fewer trips because
of their concerns about the economy and their own finances, rather than fears
about safety. Yesawich urges conference attendees to track the Conference
Board’s consumer confidence index, which has accurately indicated leisure
travel trends since the 1980s.

Ninety percent of consumers said that it is important to feel in charge
of their lives, and 67 percent said they have higher I.Q.s than other people.
Yesawich calls this group the "smart-ass" consumer, which explains why
consumer activism is at an all time high. People said they have more
confidence in their own abilities, following by confidence in their
physicians. They have less confidence with media, sales people, and
advertorials.

AUTHENTICITY
Yesawich says that in the late 1990s, consumers felt empowered and were
aggressive in seeking out deals in the marketplace. YPB called them
"vigilantes." Now consumers say their lifestyles don’t work for them, and
that they feel an imbalance between their professional life and family life.
"Consumers tell us that they feel a disconnect between their true beliefs
and their actual lifestyles," Yesawich says. "What consumers seek is
authentic experiences. They want to reconnect with what they believe is
important. Truth is critical." Therefore, marketers should consider making
their message "authentic," Yesawich suggests.

For example, the survey showed consumers choosing dream vacations to
"authentic" destinations. The top five national choices were Honolulu and the
islands of Hawaii, national parks, Colorado mountain resorts, and the Florida
Keys.

SLOWING DOWN
Fifty percent of 35-to-54 year olds said they are thinking more about
slowing down the pace of their lives, Yesawich notes. This is opposite of
when consumers wanted to pack their vacations with activities just a few
years ago.

Americans, especially those in affluent households, said they do not have
enough time, including vacation time. Sixty-seven percent say that life has
become too complicated, and 70 percent want to reduce stress in their lives.
This sentiment is why many ship operators, destinations and resorts have
added spa facilities.

A sad social commentary is that 40 percent said they were bored with
their own lives, but a great insight if you are a marketer, Yesawich says.
After September 11, eighty percent of Americans said they wanted to
vacation someplace where they had never been. This sentiment would indicate
that marketing programs aimed at attracting repeat visitors are ineffective,
Yesawich says.

TRENDS
The average American takes three trips a year. Only 24 percent of
Americans take trips of five contiguous nights. This trend has impacted both
time share and cruise businesses, which have redesigned their product
offerings to accommodate shorter stays.

Twenty-two percent of vacations are taken during the midweek, and 73
percent of all hotel rooms in the United States have their highest occupancy
on Saturday night.

In review, the surveys show that vacations will continue to get shorter,
Americans will increase their interest in family travel, and their use of the
Internet for planning and purchasing leisure travel will increase.

Americans have become more worried, more patriotic, more religious, more
charitable, and more family-centered than they were before September 11,
2001. Yesawich calls this the "new normal," which affects how people feel
about travel.